Shanghai, Fangfei in April.
In the afternoon, I met Dentsu China CEO Chun Mak in the new office, who has been in office for more than 8 months since the official announcement last year. As the first Chinese media to participate in the dialogue, China Advertising learned some new ideas and developments related to the dialogue.
电通中国CEO 麦俊彦 Chun Yin Mak
The feeling is good, and after the greetings, Chun said with a straight smile. Since his appointment, he has participated in client proposals and drafts with his colleagues, proactively shared dentsu's innovative business capabilities with customers, and organized and participated in several group-level management meetings, "learning every day". For him, in China, a highly competitive and blood-pumping market, the surging energy and sense of speed are always in his heart. Although I had a good experience of "China speed" when I was consulting at Accenture and IBM, and had a career in Greater China for about 20 years, it was still less than one-tenth of what I had discovered in a short period of time in the world of marketing communications.
The third journey: transforming a creative company
Chun's career dates back to the '90s with Andersen Consulting North America (the predecessor of Accenture), where he focused on project and transition management, as part of his role in pioneering new power markets. For a young man with a dream of changing the world, this job is cool and new, and it's perfect. Seven years later, he joined IBM and began his second 17-year career, where he was responsible for all consulting businesses across the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong, as well as new businesses such as new customer experience management and business transformation. We will continue to be at the forefront of our work. Joining Dentsu in 2023 is the third unexpected voyage.
At the end of his second career, Chun gave himself a little vacation, for him, slowing down, "resting", but also to restart and accelerate the departure - to withdraw from the high-speed rotation, precipitate, think, and gather momentum, perhaps it is just the opportunity to open up new ideas and create new space.
It was in his rest that he reached a two-way trip with Dentsu. After two or three months of communication, the meeting at the headquarters in Tokyo was like a strong shot into the core: this industry, which was a little unfamiliar to him, gradually became clear in his eyes, the blueprint was visible, and it became the final choice. "First and foremost, I was fascinated by dentsu's vision – a vision to take our customers and partners to unprecedented heights, which was very forward-looking. Second, with over 120 years of innovation and iteration, an admirable heritage, heritage and long-term strategy, dentsu has some of the key ingredients to continue to evolve, innovate and succeed (IBM, too, is 113 years old). Finally, I realized that dentsu's 'evolution' is not simply an upgrade of the media communication group, but a reshaping of an industry – merging marketing, technology, consulting...... After that, it is renewed from the inside out. Dentsu shouldn't just be a seller, a service provider, or just an agency selling ideas. In this process, customer centricity will be the constant purpose. ”
Determined to change: truly "customer-centric"
In the first few months after joining dentsu, Chun spent a lot of time doing two things: meeting with more than 80 clients to understand some ideas and perspectives from their perspectives, really listening to and understanding the deep understanding of the customers, the hardest parts of the brand business and some open opportunities, and planning how to co-create them in the future, and the second was to have many meetings with the internal team (250 one-on-one conversations, multiple roundtable discussions) to learn about new capabilities and roles in the media and creative fields. New talent. In the high-intensity rush, his thinking and cognition are also refreshing and changing, which makes him like a treasure. As he spoke, he raised the notebook in front of him, and the spread page was densely packed with meticulous preparations for this conversation: "During that time, I was really studying hard, and I could fill two of these books every week. ”
Customer-centric is not only about "going out", understanding, listening and co-creating in meeting and communication, but also about the determination and courage to "go inward". In 2024, dentsu China will implement strong fundamental reforms in terms of management systems, business operations and talent culture, and is expected to complete the new organizational structure and build by the end of the year. At present, dentsu China is realigning its business model: creative, media and customer experience management (CEM) service lines to focus on the customer as the sole driving force, to discuss AI and big data applications, experience transformation and marketing transformation, and truly focus on the growth and breakthrough of the brand, rather than insisting on one side of the coin. "Since April, we have launched this new operating model, which is customer-centric and unit-oriented, connecting all management systems, P&L and financial management. We must be the most trusted and trusted value realization partner for our customers, now and in the future. Chun explained.
In particular, he mentioned that dentsu China has a 300-person CX team to help customers transform customer experience, from different dimensions such as experience design, brand loyalty, AI, CRM, data integration and analytics, data integration and management, asset products, mobile e-commerce, etc., hoping to empower more brands with the "value of integration". In Chun's eyes, all transformations take time, need to be firm, and need to be moderately observed, learned, and adjusted. "Probably because of my professional background, we're going to manage this transformation in a real project management way, which is called programmatic levels of discipline, similar to asset management. To this end, we have also appointed managers who are specifically responsible for this area. After all, if you don't treat it correctly and follow up carefully, it will be difficult to achieve results and make it difficult. ”
In addition to reforming from the inside out and reinforcing our "customer-centric" mission, dentsu China has also made internal adjustments to make itself more competitive in the industry and soft to win in the future.
Two-pronged: people-oriented, talent reserve and management innovation
Dentsu China is one of the first industry pioneers to explore and achieve results when it comes to building a pool of young talent from the bottom up, and dentsu Z-Star is undoubtedly very representative. Three years ago, when China Advertising launched the topic of "Hidden Departments with Magical Powers", the first invitation was dentsu Z, a team of just over 10 young people who showed amazing creativity and influence from the very beginning. This year, that number is expected to reach a hundred. Chun said that from starting with 15 people to expanding to nearly 100 people, it is no longer just about creativity - it is the embodiment of cross-creative, cross-media, cross-customer experience management, cross-brand experience and other integration. Young people have their own "talent and potential", which will provide fresh energy, more diverse thinking and creativity to reshape the new dentsu and empower industry, and improve the overall standard, no matter what the future holds, which will greatly benefit the country, customers and the overall strength of the industry ecosystem.
In addition, Chun attaches great importance to top-down talent pipeline management and renewal. In early March this year, dentsu China invited 150 senior executives and executives from the Group to host a two-day leadership forum, the Unite to Ignite – Client Value Acceleration Leadership Forum, in Shanghai. In his view, it is also an attempt and a change in cultural values – a place where people understand each other and strengthen their responsibilities and commitments, aspirations and visions. Although it was only presented in the form of a kick-off meeting, I could feel the strong desire of everyone to let go and do a great job, "I want everyone to achieve the kind of success they want in their growth." For the team, there is still room for us to evolve, improve, and optimize. ”
In the exploration of careers, different industry fields, functional roles, and market cultures are bound to bring different levels of experience and growth. Chun prefers to think of the third take-off, which is completely different, as an adventure. He is still very interested in the Chinese market, which he has been immersed in for a long time: "I am a curious person who is willing to try new things. Sometimes, working means thinking while learning, and adjusting as you do. It's not easy to grow and transcend, but easy is not what I should be at my age, is it? When I interviewed at our headquarters in Tokyo last year, a management colleague at dentsu asked me, 'Are you sure you want to continue to do the same market after working in China for so many years?' and my response was: 'Yes, because every year China is different, and there is nothing more exciting than being at the forefront of the global digital ecosystem, in a complex and ever-changing market, to complete dentsu's own transformation, innovation, transformation, and become a "beacon" of the industry. And that kind of excitement, energy, and action, is enough to impact many things, fellow travelers, and the entire industry. ”
One dentsu is a spirit, a way of thinking, a way of doing things, and the ultimate goal of dentsu China's new operating model: to help deliver customer value. Since joining the company, Chun has become increasingly aware of dentsu's strong commitment to the China market – B2B2S, a socially responsible approach that satisfies both sellers and buyers, and is about the evolution of customers, partners and the ecosystem as a whole, which is impossible to achieve without commercial ambition. "I often remind myself and my team that transformation will be a necessary way to go, both now and in the future, on the one hand, always humbly reflect with confidence, to show the spirit of a fighter to give it a go, and on the other hand, to stick to the spirit of craftsmanship, choose less but do better, do what is most valuable to customers and do the best. Challenges are everywhere, and progress takes time, but don't do it in a haphazard way, and don't keep changing your mind. Step by step, calmly and slowly, it belongs to dentsu's own destination, we will finally arrive and everything will be worth it. ”